Gifts of a Star
by Becky Sky
Summary: A star's daughter brings many gifts, and spreads joy to all those around her. A queen, a mother, a wife. So ethereal and so human as she tucks her small child into bed at night. A moment in time between the VotDT and SC.


**Author's Note: I really love the Chronicles of Narnia, and this is my tribute to Caspian and his loves - his wife and son - as C.S. Lewis wrote them, with disregard to the movies. (I still love the movies, don't get me wrong; they were epic, but I'm a book purist most of the time). So there is no Suspian (?) or any of that. Please read and review. Also note that I did not use a name for Ramandu's Daughter, because although she's been named for the movie, I like the mystery and power that just comes from being called The Queen. **

**GIFTS OF THE STAR**

"Good night, Rillian." The Queen's skirts rustled like the whisper of a thousand leaves as she perched on the edge of his bed. Rillian stared up at his mother in adoration, certain that she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

"Mama?"

"Yes?"

"If Grandfather was a star, are you one too?"

She smiled, her soft blue eyes crinkling. She stroked a stubborn curl from his forehead. "Do you want me to be?"

He nodded vigorously, sitting upright in bed. "Yes! Stars are so pretty Mama!"

Laughing gently, the Queen gathered the young prince in her arms and cradled him back and forth. "Remember Rillian, beauty is not everything. It comes from within. I pray you never forget this."

"Mama, I'm sleepy." He yawned, rubbing his eyes and cuddling into the crook of her neck. "You smell nice."

Her sigh flowed through him like the river of a sea breeze. Then she embraced him tighter, burying her face in his hair. "And you smell like you've been rolling around in the mud again!"

He giggled. "Nurse says I'm a bad child, and that I should be punished."

The Queen stood up, perching him on her hip and gazing at him sternly. "Do you think you should be punished?"

"No!"

She grinned, something Rillian loved to see and prayed to Aslan for each morning. "Well, I think you should be!" She tossed him on the bed and tickled his sides mercilessly. He shrieked and thrashed, giggling uncontrollably.

"Stop, stop! Mercy! Mama! Papa…" He floundered like a hapless fish.

"Rillian! Rillian!" The door burst open, slamming against the wall with the force of an angry wave. "What's happening?"

The Queen and Rillian both fell silent to stare at the scene in the doorway. The King stood gasping for breath, his golden hair dishevelled and tunic hanging loose. His boots were unlaced and flopping, his sword nearly unsheathed, and there was a wild panic in his eyes that reminded Rillian of a crazed courtier. Or the little dwarf glaring at them from Caspian's side, his arms crossed and eyes bloodshot.

"Why, hello there!" The Queen said cheerfully, grabbing Rillian's hand and waving it at the man and dwarf.

"My dear? What is this?" Caspian blinked, brows furrowed in confusion.

"Mama was tickling me!" Rillian said accusingly.

The Queen of Narnia smiled sweetly. "He's ticklish, Caspian. Just like you, my beloved." She nodded at Trumpkin. "Did we worry you, our dear little friend?"

"Tickles and twisters! Of course I wasn't worried!" He scowled. "I never worry."

"Rubbish," Caspian said, straightening with a sheepish grin. A flush reddened his cheeks. "You were the one who burst into my bedchamber hollering about the prince being murdered in his bed. You caught me at a very… horrible time." The King's cheeks grew even redder.

Trumpkin snorted. "As childish as the maids in spring," he muttered. He turned on the king. "So what if it hadn't been the queen? Would you have dallied to make yourself presentable before saving your son? Would you have combed your hair, you vain-hearted human? Why, if it were me, I would have flashed out of there as quick as lightning, if it were my son being harmed!"

"Without a sword?"

"Swords and sashes," the dwarf growled. "I would have improvised, you fool!" With a curt nod to the prince and a bow to the queen, he turned on his heel and stomped out.

"I'm certain he is the one and only Narnian who could survive speaking to you this way," The Queen commented with a smile.

Caspian sighed wearily. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Papa? Will you give me a kiss good-night?"

Caspian's face glowed. "Of course, son." He leaned over the queen to plant a kiss on Rillian's forehead. The prince smiled and snuggled under the blankets as The Queen tucked them around his shoulders. Caspian took her hand to lead her out when Rillian whispered, "Mama, you too."

"Of course, Rillian." With a knowing glance at Caspian, she approached her son's bed. She knelt by his head, dancing her fingers across his cheek. She sang lightly under her breath, washing his face with a sweet perfume.

"Mama, what are you singing?"

"A star's blessing, Rillian. So the stars, as well as Aslan, will always watch over you, wherever you go."

"So the stars are watching me right now?"

She nodded.

"All the time?"

She nodded.

He looked thoughtful. "Even when I'm bad?"

She nodded.

"Mama, the stars are scary."

She laughed until she nearly cried, hugging him against her breast. Caspian waited quietly in the doorway while she kissed her son on the forehead. "Aslan keep you, Rillian," she whispered. "Until we meet again in the morning."

The last thing she heard as she closed the door was the gentle sigh of his snore.

Taking Caspian's arm, she allowed him to escort her towards their bedchamber. He watched her from the corner of his eye. Finally, he spoke. "Will you sing me a star's blessing?"

She shook her head.

He looked mystified. "Why not?"

She stopped and faced him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Because, sweet king, I did so a long time ago." Her eyes twinkled. "As soon as your ship sailed out of sight, all those years ago. I sang it to you when you would not hear it, for when you needed it most."

His lips curved with a disappointed frown. "So I can't hear the words?"

"Why do you need to know them? For even if you did, you would not understand. A blessing is unfathomable. It's not the words that count, but what's behind them. Protection. Love." She cupped his cheek with her hand. "But you may have a star's gift." She kissed his lips lightly. "And now, my lord, let us retire."


End file.
